May 2011 To the Clergy Dear Friends I am sending this letter by e-mail rather than by post (except to the four clergy for whom we have no electronic contact details). This is to save staff time, paper and money. I would be grateful for your comments as to whether this would be right for the future). This is also addressed to the clergy of the Yaxley Deanery of Ely Diocese: not by way of claiming any episcopal rights south of the River Nene, but simply to keep them in touch with what is going on in Peterborough Diocese. In this Easter season I hope you are refreshed, both as a result of a break from routine and also through celebrating our Lord’s resurrection with your people. Of course we celebrate the resurrection every Sunday, but I find the focus on it in this great 50 day season to be joyful and invigorating. New life and new beginnings must always be at the heart of our faith. Comings and Goings New beginnings usually follow endings which may not be quite so easy. Next month we will welcome John Holbrook and his family as he becomes our new suffragan bishop. I am confident that John will be an excellent and much loved bishop, but losing Frank and Alison White last year was not easy. Shortly we will be interviewing for a new diocesan secretary: Richard Pestell will be retiring in the summer or early autumn. Then David Painter retires as Archdeacon of Oakham at the end of October: we will begin the search for his successor quite soon. I have only been here for a little over a year, but these colleagues who are retiring and moving on have become more like friends. Bishops’ Diaries Soon after Bishop John Holbrook joins us we will appoint a secretary for him. Until then Alex Low in my office is handling his diary as well as mine. Like me John will be available to preside, preach (and confirm if requested) in parishes most Sundays and some weekday evenings, beginning from September. If you would like a visit from either of us between this September and next August please get your request in to Alex by the end of June. John will not be limited to the Northampton Archdeaconry nor I to the Oakham Archdeaconry: we will both welcome invitations to any place of worship in the diocese. As we work out the diary we will give priority to places we have not yet visited, and we will each look for opportunities to visit two or three parishes in the same geographical area on any given Sunday if timings permit. Deaneries and groups of parishes are still free to organise joint confirmation services, and there will be evening confirmations in the Cathedral on 19 November 2011 and 7 April 2012, but we will also be very happy to confirm small groups of people in the course of a “normal” Sunday morning service. It is fine for you to book either of us for a Sunday service on the understanding that there might be confirmation candidates: we would still be happy to come to preach and preside even if those candidates do not materialise. Diocese of Seoul Four of us visited the Diocese of Seoul in South Korea in Easter week. Charles Taylor from the Cathedral, Liz Cowley from the Daventry Team Ministry and Dani Cooke from Moulton joined me on a trip to explore the possibility of a second diocesan link. The Anglican Communion encourages dioceses to link with more than one other and to look at different cultures as well as crossing the more obvious rich-poor divide. A link between Peterborough and Seoul would not in any way prejudice our ongoing link with Bungoma. Seoul is looking for a Church of England diocese to link with, and their Mothers’ Union and ours have been in partnership for a number of years, so it makes sense to explore this possibility. Charles has written a bit about our trip in the June magazine resource which I hope you and your people read. Suffice it to say here that there is a lot going on in the Diocese of Seoul, and that South Korea is absolutely fascinating and would open many people’s eyes to a whole new vision of national life, and to different ways of being community and church. Bishop Paul Kim and a small group will be visiting us for a few days around Petertide as we continue to explore this possibility. Ministers’ Conference I remind you of the dates of our conference at Swanwick, 5-8 December. This is for all licensed clergy and lay ministers. I am conscious that some lay ministers and some SSMs and chaplains may not be able to join us, but I do expect all stipendiary clergy to come and I warmly invite those in the other categories. Speakers will include Dr Paula Gooder on themes from 2 Corinthians, Bishop Lindsay Urwin on preaching and myself focussing on the conference theme of Joy in Ministry. There will be numerous seminars and workshops to choose from, some lighter activities and some free time as well as worship together. The planning group is putting together an interesting and varied programme: I am grateful to them and am very much looking forward to our time together. There is no charge for the conference: the diocese puts aside some money each year and I see this as an important part of our continuing ministerial development. We have had a few requests for conference places for spouses and for retired clergy with permission to officiate (PTO). I am sorry but the answer in both cases has to be No. Obviously where husband and wife each have a licence to minister they will both be invited, but we simply cannot accommodate or afford more people – and although there will be free time this is most definitely a working conference. In any case I hope that retired clergy with PTO will be in the diocese covering funerals and services and pastoral needs. Incumbents would be wise to approach retired clergy now to ensure that the dates are covered. Worship in Closed Churches In the diocese we have a number of churches which are “closed for public worship” (“redundant churches” was the old legal description but that is now … redundant). When such a building is still owned by the diocese or is vested in the Churches Conservation Trust it is possible for occasional services to be held with permission from the Diocesan Bishop. I have had a number of such requests and think it would be helpful to make my approach to this question known. Each instance should be the subject of a separate request, but I will be minded to say yes provided that: the relevant incumbent or priest in charge is happy; the proposed service does not clash or compete with other services in the benefice; the request is not for a baptism or a marriage; and that there are no more than four such events in any closed church in one year. Communion by Extension This is another area where I receive requests with some regularity. Once again each instance should be the subject of a separate request. My concern will be that Communion by Extension does not routinely replace a full service of Holy Communion. But it is important that Holy Communion should be available in every benefice and in as many churches as reasonably possible every Sunday, and if Communion by Extension allows that to happen, particularly during vacancies or clergy illness or at major festivals, please do not hesitate to ask. At the same time I do believe in the importance of non-eucharistic services, particularly to draw in those who are not confirmed or regular worshippers. I welcome and commend such “bridge services” if they are well planned and led and designed to draw people further into the life and faith of the Church. It may be that on some occasions these might be a sensible alternative to Communion by Extension. With warm good wishes in Christ’s service, +Donald .